Main accused in ₹900-crore heroin smuggling case held in Italy

The ATS had seized 5kg of heroin in August 2018 and arrested two people. Probe revealed that it was part of a 300kg consignment which had entered Gujarat from Pakistan through the Mandvi coast.

The main accused in a ₹900 crore heroin smuggling racket has been nabbed by Interpol in Italy earlier this week, an official of the Gujarat Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS) said on Friday.

The ATS had seized 5kg of heroin in August 2018 and arrested two people.

Probe revealed that it was part of a 300kg consignment which had entered Gujarat from Pakistan through the Mandvi coast.

Simranjit Singh Sandhu, a resident of Amritsar, was the brain behind the smuggling racket, the senior ATS official said.

“Sandhu has been held by Interpol in Italy after a Red Corner Notice (RCN) was issued by the ATS. We will seek his custody after he is deported to India as we need to know where the remaining 295kg heroin is,” the official said.

Aziz Abdul Bhagad and Arif Adam Sumra, arrested in August 2018, had allegedly told the investigators that the contraband was smuggled into Gujarat through sea route, on dhows and fishing trawlers.